Got an invite to play Calabasas Country Club again for just the second time this month and was really looking forward to the opportunity. My first visit was a very poor round but the course was pretty... Continue »

Got an invite to play Calabasas Country Club again for just the second time this month and was really looking forward to the opportunity. My first visit was a very poor round but the course was pretty fantastic and conditions were top notch.

Unfortunately my play was no better this time around, but also conditions have deteriorated on the course to add insult to injury. The bones of the course are still really good - it's a super-challenging layout with very precise landing areas, narrow alleys to navigate, and some really tough green complexes, but the course is as dried out and thin as any mid-level muni in LA right now so that was disappointing but not altogether shocking in that area.

Greens were still in really great shape and rolled really nicely. They're very tricky with a lot of subtle breaks and the ball can get away from you quite easily. But overall, no complaints about the greens. The tee boxes were also just fine (we played the blue-white combo tees), but the fairways again were very dried out, not aesthetically pleasing and there were even some dirt areas where some in our group actually moved their ball because it simply wasn't hittable. The rough was thick where it could be found, and the bunkers were just okay.

Still, when you get a chance to play a nice private club, you enjoy it and don't look a gift horse in the mouth, so I will absolutely play here again if the opportunity comes up and I can't imagine that these conditions are the norm here. I know that later in the year or early spring, this course will once again be in optimum shape and a true joy to play.